While no action on unofficial policy of removing feral cats from
county property after complaints are received was missed
opportunity, supervisors acted wisely by not adopting
trap-neuter-and-release program
Santa Clara County supervisors essentially took no action on the issue of feral cats on county property – and that’s a loss for both sides.
Currently, the county does not have an official policy regarding the huge colonies of cats that live on county property. Frequently, these colonies of semi-wild cats are fed by soft-hearted feline fanciers who visit the sites, leaving food.
Anyone living near these colonies must deal with the problems that result – sick and dying cats, cats that urinate and defecate on their lawns, and dumping of additional unwanted cats at these sites, which become known as safe places to drop unwanted cats.
Supervisors had the opportunity to codify a humane practice in which feral cats are trapped, evaluated for their suitability for adoption, and if found not to be suitable, euthanized at shelters.
Some cat lovers howled in protest, advocating instead that feral cats be trapped, sterilized and returned to their colonies.
We have serious concerns about the latter approach. The county assumes liability if it assumes responsibility for maintaining cat colonies. If feral cats on county property harm a person or damage property, the county is a likely and fair target for litigation.
We also question how humane or natural it is for these cats to exist in a state where they’re not completely wild – they’re being fed, after all – but not domesticated either.
We don’t like the idea of tacitly approving the dumping of unwanted kittens and cats, which supporting feral cat colonies does.
Let’s remember that feral cats are not native wild species. They exist in an unnatural state between fully domesticated house cats and fully wild predators.
Just as we see overpopulation and behavior problems when other wild creatures are fed – ducks and pigeons, for example – feeding colonies of feral cats also upsets the balance of nature.
And let’s not fool ourselves: The life of a feral cat is not a pleasant one. Feral cats live an average of one and a half years and often die slow, unpleasant deaths of injuries from run-ins with other cats or predator animals.
Because the supervisors failed to codify the current practice, it will continue in an unofficial manner. While we’re glad that the practice of assuming responsibility for feral cat colonies wasn’t adopted, we’d prefer to see the humane current practice officially adopted. It’s best for taxpayers, for neighbors of feral cat colonies, and for the cats.
